The experience of painting (note that I chose to describe it as experience, rather than practice) is like any other in our perception, there are highs and lows, there is ebb and flow, but we continue. The painting will continue its journey towards completion and has a natural path. Sometimes I paint, sometimes I don’t paint. Strangely, I feel that I am working on my painting just as much when I’m not painting it as when I am. This is its natural rather than forced path. Painting takes time in these such ways; both in the physical application of paint, and the space left in the artists experience of making the painting. If too much space is left e.g. when the ebb and flow has carried the artist away from their task, a deadline could be necessary. Sometimes there are events on the horizon that help sharpen the focus of an artist onto completing a painting, such as an exhibition (takes the ‘hassle’ out of imposing your own deadline). I guess the overall theme of this post is that of determination and resolution to achieve the goal. In order to achieve something great, we have to be sensitive enough to allow space in our experience of painting, with the knowledge that this is as valuable as working on the painting itself (ideas fester consciously and subconsciously), and also maintain the vision that motivated the creation of the painting in the first place.

Here’s some more pictures of my continued application of paint (this is the stage I got to before breaking off to work on some studies, please click here to view my last post on the subject).